Senior Spacecraft Mechanical Design Engineer

Star Catcher•Jacksonville, FL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Star Catcher Industries, Inc., located in Jacksonville, Florida, is seeking a Senior Spacecraft Mechanical Design Engineer to support development of space-to-space power-beaming spacecraft and the Star Catcher Network, an orbital power grid. The engineer will serve as a subject matter expert across the spacecraft mechanical design process, including vehicle configuration, mass properties, interface control, drafting standards and GD&T, drawing release, and producibility. The role owns spacecraft mechanical configuration and mass properties, hardware interfaces, mechanical drafting and release practices, and producibility standards. It provides technical direction across mechanical design disciplines and coordinates with electrical engineering, thermal engineering, structural analysis, systems engineering, manufacturing, suppliers, customers, subcontractors, and launch vehicle stakeholders. The engineer also leads enclosure design, CAD/PDM practices, design reviews, documentation, and mentoring of the mechanical engineering team.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in mechanical, structural, or aerospace engineering, or a related field.
At least 10 years of experience in spacecraft or flight hardware mechanical design.
Demonstrated leadership of space systems development, including ownership of a major assembly from concept through build and flight.
Experience establishing or owning a drafting standard and GD&T practice per ASME Y14.5, and a drawing release process in a PDM system.
Experience owning a vehicle mass properties budget, including subsystem allocation, growth tracking, and reporting at design reviews.
Experience with mechanical chassis design for electrical components, including wedgelocks, connectors, backplanes, flex circuits, thermal interface materials, heatsinks, EMI/EMC shielding, encapsulation, and cable management.
Expert proficiency in Autodesk Inventor or equivalent, including large assembly management.
Experience driving producibility and make-versus-buy decisions with machine shops, fabricators, and flight hardware suppliers.
Experience evaluating and selecting space-qualified adhesives, sealants, and threadlockers for flight hardware, and writing technical work instructions for application and curing methods.
Creative problem-solving skills and ability to develop innovative solutions to advanced engineering challenges.

Nice To Haves

Master's or PhD degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering, or a related field.
Experience with deployable structures and configuration control of stowed and deployed states.
Experience with composite, bonded, or lightweight panel construction and associated fabrication processes.
Experience administering CAD and PDM environments, including template, library, and automation development with iLogic, Python, or equivalent.
Familiarity with regulations and standards relevant to space missions and operations.
Ability to communicate and work effectively in a multidisciplinary team while prioritizing tasks, multiple projects, and personnel.

Responsibilities

Own spacecraft mechanical configuration, including internal layout, keep-out zones, access and serviceability, and stowed and deployed envelopes of deployable structures.
Own the spacecraft mass properties budget, allocate mass, center of gravity, and inertia to subsystems, and approve growth and margin positions at design reviews.
Own interfaces to subcontractor, customer, and launch vehicle hardware, and ensure Interface Control Documents (ICDs) are accurate and current.
Establish mechanical engineering drafting standards and GD&T practices, including drawing formats, tolerancing conventions, and part numbering.
Define and run the drawing review and release process, including release states, engineering changes, and router packages that follow hardware through fabrication.
Lead the design of electronics enclosures for circuit cards and other electrical components, coordinating with electrical engineering, thermal engineering, and structural analysis teams to protect electronics in launch and space environments.
Establish and maintain Autodesk Inventor templates, standard parts libraries, and modeling practices for consistent, reusable released designs.
Direct detail design across the mechanical team and approve models and drawings for release.
Own producibility standards and make-versus-buy logic for mechanical hardware, and set supplier drawing and inspection requirements.
Serve as the technical focal point for mechanical design across structures, mechanisms, thermal, optical, avionics, and manufacturing.
Support systems engineering in writing detailed requirements for mechanical hardware functionality and verification methods.
Mentor engineers and establish design review practices and documentation standards for the discipline.
Create technical documentation for proposals, design reviews, and test reports to execute program deliverables and support winning new programs.